Sergei Bubka's Millennium Games

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Catch a glimpse of the Olympics a few months early with this obscure yet fun European title.

By IGN Staff

The summer games are still a ways off, but Euro outfit Midas Interactive has been stricken with Olympic fever. In the hopes that the spirit of international competition will translate into dollars and cents, they've packaged this season's goodwill into one inconspicuous box under the moniker of Sergei Bubka's Millennium Games. Yet although our main man Sergei's a six time consecutive pole vaulting world champion, he's not exactly a household name, nor is his first computerized outing generating much hype. Behind the unassuming facade, however, lurks a product with world class potential.

As U.S. Gold's officially branded clunkers demonstrated back in '96, licensing deals won't cover a lame track and field simulation's tracks. Luckily for unsuspecting sports fans, Millennium Games is of the same caliber as 3DO's unsung hero 3DO Games Decathlon. A few legalities short of an authentic backdrop and real-life roster of athletes, Sergei Bubka's baby is still every bit as strong gameplay-wise as one would hope the upcoming Sydney 2000 to be. Which of the two products people will come to prefer depends purely on the brand of interface that suits each individual best.

Slim, but reasonably informative, the manual will rapidly impart enough know-how to get aspiring athletes up and running without a hitch. Myriad play options provide for practice sessions, single computer split screen or IPX & TCP/IP multiplayer competitions, team arcade events and training management options. Anyone looking for a fulfilling standalone single-player experience is advised to opt for the basic Team Arcade mode, wherein one picks a country and gender prior to competing in a series of 19 (yes, nineteen) different open and hidden events. Qualifying rounds give way to actual competitions, which you'll need to take part in to receive medals and thereby unlock new contests. Training Management is included for the micromanagement-obsessed, adding several layers of gameplay padding in the form of athlete creation, physical development, and scheduling.

On its most basic level, the one-handed mouse driven control system (appropriately dubbed MDP--Mouse Driven Power) is founded upon a hollow, rotating circular meter that hovers near the player's feet. Divided into green and red sections, with a blue arrow stuck at the bottom center portion of the shape, the meter bestows power on an athlete when the left mouse button is held down while the green bar passes beneath the arrow. Fail to ease up on the trigger when the red colored section comes around and power quickly drains away. Confusing as it sounds, your team's smart enough to run or begin pumping up for a throw automatically, they just need a helping hand to work up steam and know when to let loose with a jump or toss.

Foreign to one another as events seem, they can all be traced back to one of four categories (sprint, distance, throw, or jump) that rely on the MDP scheme, or keyboard in the case of split-screen showdowns. Minute interface adjustments differentiate advanced competitions from less complex affairs. For example, you'll have to perform the same operation three times to complete the triple jump as opposed to a singular try in the long jump. While the AI controls most of a team's actions, only through your guidance can an athlete determine the proper angle to lob a discus at, the right moment to leave the ground behind and the appropriate way to pace their during a lengthy race, so get clicking.

Strange as it is to not be slapping keys like a madman ¿ la Konami's groundbreaking Track and Field, the system not only works, it's also addictive as nicotine-coated bon-bons. A carrot and stick system of rewards (e.g. no gold medal = no new event to play) causes undue anguish, but it's anguish that'll drive you ever onward to glory. Qualification rounds come off as a nuisance at first, though in hindsight they teach novices the skills necessary to survive against the toughest competitors the nations of the world can muster. We won't even begin to go into how many times I played the friggin' shot put sequence to figure out the exact angle and timing required to nab a 22 meter record.

Vibrant colors, photorealistic model,s and cheerful stadiums are an unexpected, but welcome sight. Together, they imbue the game with the kind of personality usually reserved for titles that bear the EA Sports logo. Muscular men and women strut their stuff around some sharp looking 3D environments, putting the scrawny officials who stand ready to record the outcome of events to shame. Award ceremonies and *gasp* photo finishes are part and parcel of the presentation too. A small grab bag of sound effects, such as gunshot noises or the puff of sand spraying up from a jumper's landing, step aside to make way for the mighty visuals. Had the British announcer deigned to speak more than a few catchy lines and insults ("Hey, watch out for the crowd!"), this wouldn't have been the case.

Hats' off to Midas to bringing the gold home early with little fanfare. Chances are Sergei Bubka's Millennium Games isn't going to break sales records. And too bad this little Olympic title probably won't find its way to major outlets in North America, either. Hope comes in the form of the Internet, though, as you American Olympic hopefuls can order Sergei Bubka's Millennium Games directly from the United Kingdom online at www.midasinteractive.com. Provided the exotic interface and extreme level of difficulty doesn't induce a conniption fit or distract you from the action, this title's the next best thing to a round trip ticket to Sydney.